While it’s true Sparks new album, “Mad!” was released on May 23rd, I was hung up on the domestic issues I struggled with on a daily basis this year. I did not actually buy their new CD until August 10th, so I could hear it in advance of their concert in Hotlanta that I attended [with friends!] on the 5th of September. But the Monastic dance card was hyper busy this year with two big home remodeling projects, a massive CD cull [still happening], a multitude of trips to see friends and shows, and lots of travel with my loved one.

Now that things are calming down [a bit – the travel is pretty much over] it’s time to turn our attention to the pair of brothers who show no signs of slowing down as they reach the end of their 80th decade. And the twin discs of tunes they released this year. When I saw the first concert of their “Mad!” tour, I was amazed to see a new EP in the merch selection. The four track “Madder!” disc, which gratefully came on the silver disc as well as [admittedly desirable] 10″ wax as well. Today we’ll examine both.

MAD!

Sparks: Mad! – UK – CD [2025]

1. Do Things My Own Way
2. Jansport Backpack
3. Hit Me, Baby 
4. Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab 
5. My Devotion
6. Don’t Dog It
7. In Daylight 
8. I-405 Rules
9. A Long Red Light
10. Drowned In A Sea Of Tears
11. A Little Bit Of Light Banter 
12. Lord Have Mercy 

The relentless strum and throb of “Do Things My Own Way” took a belligerent step to begin the adventure of this album. Hitting a decidedly Rock target that made full usage of their band for the last three albums to their best advantage, but I also liked the atypical ascending synth riff that was more textural than musical here. Mirroring the simmer-to-boil energy the track was all about.

The next cut came from a radically different direction since the maddening earworm of “Jansport Backpack” seemed to eschew the Rock era altogether to revel in songwriting that looked further backward for inspiration. Waaay backward. Shall we invoke Stephen Foster here? Russell Mael’s stacked harmonies with himself [a gambit used throughout the album] were highly melodious and the synth voices recalled nothing more than the timber of clarinets. All that were missing were the banjos!

Well, this wasn’t the first time that Sparks have looked to the Great American Songbook for inspiration. But surely, they alone among the bands of the Rock Era, have managed to come out of the experience without egg on their faces. And as I said, the song will burrow into the skull and live in playback for hours/days at a time. So there’s something to be said for the effort. Especially taking into consideration the glorious climax which closes out the song on heavenly plane.

The clattering, “Hit Me Baby,” had its busy percussive work as its biggest distinction. A mere palate cleanser before the instant classic that was “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab!” With freeze-dried EDM synths put to good use for a change, sounding all the better with the tremolo guitar riff that sparred with them in the intro. When the drums kicked in, the anxious stasis that defined the intro was in the rear view mirror. All the better to allow us to revel in the decadent scenarios of the lyric as the energy plateaued up in the track. I liked the subtle howls of hair metal guitar strategically injected into the track.

The precious ballad of “My Devotion” couched the presumably ironic lyrics in a splendid chocolate-box arrangement packed with pizzicato pluckings and synth whistling that served to intensify the irony. “Don’t Dog It” had a mixture of rim hits and low octave piano rondo to serve as a foundation to Russell’s deadpan vocal, imploring various authorities to put forth some Big Answers before the synth strings entered the fray to add a little fortissimo. In a Sparks-only move, the infectious chorus included the word “thusly” on three of four lines in the post-chorus stanza.

“Shake it thusly and you’ll see the light
Shake it thusly on the Golden Path
Shake it thusly and you’ll get the drift
And that’s all the wisdom that I have”

Don’t Dog It

The mood changed with the tender “In Daylight” where an irony-free Russell exhorted the beauty of his paramour to the minimal and stately music bed where the sustained strings held the delicacy of the track in balance like a tender haiku. Sometime a lot can be conveyed with very little and this was an example of Sparks adapting their “L’il Beethoven®” DNA into new forms. This just could be the sequel to “My Baby’s Taking Me Home.”

Next: …Ten Inch Record…4.75″ CD